Palin won't run

Sarah Palin pledged to stay an active part of the political discussion as she announced she wouldn’t be making a 2012 White House run.

On Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News show Wednesday night, Palin told supporters that she’s sorry if they are disappointed that she passed on the race.

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“I apologize to those who are disappointed in this decision,” she said. “I’ve been hearing from them in the last couple of hours but I believe that they, when they take a step back, will understand why the decision was made and understand that, really, you don’t need a title to make a difference in this country. I think that I’m proof of that.”

Palin told Van Susteren that her husband, Todd Palin, heard from some of the GOP presidential candidates since making her announcement at 6 p.m. She did not identify which ones.

Palin added that she considered the thought that, by not running in 2012, she may forfeit any future chance to do so.

“I would go back and forth about whether now is the time, and if I say no to the opportunity that’s in front of me, be it running for office now, politically speaking will I die? Will I be ineffective?” she said. “After making the decision today, and making the announcement, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt after great confirmation today too, Greta, personally speaking, I know that it’s the right decision and I know that I can join others and be effective in helping change what’s going on in our country and helping wake up Americans to what is going on in our country.”

The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee first announced the news to conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin and in a letter to supporters Wednesday evening.

“I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States,” she wrote. “As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.”

Asked if she will support the GOP nominee, Palin told Levin: “I have confidence in that. I look forward to supporting our nominee. … The right candidate will be elevated that will be our nominee. We’ll be able to get behind that person and make sure that Barack Obama is replaced.”

Though the timing of Palin’s announcement was a surprise, GOP operatives have long expected her to pass on a 2012 race. She did not build an infrastructure that could have been used as the foundation for a campaign, her political action committee did little to build a staff and she remained on the Fox News payroll as a contributor while 2012 candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich saw their contracts terminated.

Palin had repeatedly dangled the possibility of running in interviews in recent months while sounding off about the candidates in the race and appearing in person at several key moments. She brought the first leg of her One Nation bus tour to a close in New Hampshire just after Mitt Romney announced his candidacy there in June, and she started a second leg of the tour in Iowa the day before the Ames Straw Poll.

But while she still can draw large crowds and claim six-figure speaking fees, a Palin run for the presidency would have had significant roadblocks — in addition to the lack of structural preparation for a campaign, a poll released Tuesday found two-thirds of Republicans didn’t want her to run.